Democrats are losing AI because of a big messaging problem

Democrats in Washington are losing the AI conversation Not because they are wrong about AI's risks but because they have failed to offer Americans a vision for the economic transformation ahead While they focus on managing problems others are defining what comes next One side is talking about building the future the other about constraining it In November at Nvidia's GTC conference in Washington hundreds of technologists and business leaders celebrated a great American success story Jensen Huang and the company he co-founded The speakers praised President Donald Trump for his administration's approach to AI Plenty of in the audience saw an administration that's for removing blockades enabling scale improving American competitiveness This should be a wake-up call for Democrats who have failed to seize the opportunity so far to speak not only to AI's risks but to its foreseen for broad economic transformation Democrats have inquired plenty of questions about AI s safety its biases and its effect on the job realm But so far Democrats have treated these as separate problems to manage rather than as pieces of a larger question how do we shape this transformation so it creates opportunity for everyone not just profits for a minimal That's the conversation Americans deserve THE NEW ARMS RACE IS FOR COMPUTE AND AMERICA CAN T AFFORD TO FALL BEHIND The elite consensus in Washington focuses on one goal optimize America's AI capabilities as a whole A current Foreign Affairs essay by former Biden administration administrators captures the grand bargain between ruling body and industry more infrastructure and threshold for big companies Workers communities and startups beyond the frontier are afterthoughts Build first assume prosperity trickles down later It's a familiar strategy that hasn't delivered before Republicans mostly embrace this framework as well but Republican populists smartly recognize its shortcomings What this means going forward Large companies positioned to capture trillions Worker displacement a obstacle to solve later Communities provide land power and water without guarantees they'll share in prosperity The Biden administration's executive order was comprehensive on safety testing but revealed little about prosperity workers or communities Past waves of automation left communities hollowed out and workers without pathways forward Innovation rarely distributes opportunity without deliberate efforts to strengthen workers communities and local economies Current polling in swing states shows AI sentiment declining as workers connect the system to job insecurity We all lose Not to China but to ourselves The skepticism crosses ideological lines On the far right former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon warned earlier this year that entry-level jobs will be destroyed On the far left Democratic Socialists see AI as another truck for corporate power Both responses cede the possibility that AI could distribute opportunity rather than concentrate wealth TRUMP'S AI PLAN IS A BULWARK AGAINST THE RISING THREAT FROM CHINA An alternative vision would optimize for the flourishing of American Davids our workers families and innovative startups Large companies' long-term success depends on this foundation too It's not about slowing down The capital is moving fast regardless The question is whether we structure that rapid deployment to create broadly shared prosperity or concentrated extraction Aimless speed creates the political backlash that in fact threatens progress Speed with a plan creates sustainable advancement We've done this before Land grant universities gave communities stakes in research and tuition Rural electrification co-ops gave farmers ownership not just access The GI Bill gave veterans leverage to build fulfilling careers not just short-term compensation Alaska's Permanent Fund gives every resident dividends from oil extraction on masses lands CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION Now imagine National block grants enabling states to create masses compute for startups and regional economies Worker transition funds that workers control not programs they endure Equity stakes when companies profit from residents infrastructure give communities ownership of their future Third party assurance markets to accelerate responsible innovation at scale These are ideas to prompt discussion with the American people This moment calls for a national project worthy of American ingenuity Democrats have a long history with this thinking Rural electrification and railroad strategy ensured broad access Currently Arizona Democratic Sen Mark Kelly's AI for America proposal represents the kind of bigger vision we should debate Aimless speed creates the political backlash that in fact threatens progress Speed with a plan creates sustainable advancement New system alone is good But it's even better when paired with agenda and domain approaches that emphasize economic precaution opportunity and dignity for the American people Democrats are flat-footed Anxiety is rising among populists on the right and left The urgent question now is whether either party will challenge the elite consensus that treats the impacts of economic transformation on workers communities and startups as either imaginary or problems to solve later This moment demands a vision that accounts for all Americans our workers communities and startup entrepreneurs preponderance especially